City Hunter
by SouPi
Summary: 25 years ago, their country betrayed Minato and his team while on a mission. Only Kakashi survived because of Minato's sacrifice. Present day: Naruto works for the government as an elite IT engineer but he's not really who he says he is. Based on kdrama
1. Chapter 1

So after watching the Kdrama, I was instantly addicted to it. i haven't been writing fanfiction on here for a while but this story had been on my mind for a while now and I couldn't help but write it. If you haven't seen City Hunter, go watch it! It's so good! I love Lee Minho! He's so cute/sexy at the same time. LoL. The characters might be a little ooc, but I will try my best to keep to their original personalities.

This is a crossover between Naruto and City Hunter.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto or City Hunter. If I did, I'd be rich.

* * *

><p>"Congratulations, it's a baby boy!" The nurse handed the wailing little bundle of life over to the mother who looked ready to collapse with exhaustion. "Where's the father?" She asked, looking around the room for any of the family members.<p>

"Not here. He's coming." Kushina gasped, tenderly cradling the whimpering infant against her. He was beautiful. "Hush. Your father will be here soon." She stroked a finger down his soft baby skin, marveling at her miracle and joy. "You look so much like him." Already his little mop of blonde hair was starting to spike up in every direction and she had a feeling that his baby blue eyes were only going to lighten to a bluer hue.

Her baby made a gurgling sound in response, blowing spit bubbles at her.

"Kushina!" Minato burst into the room, eyes wide and face full of pride and joy. "Is he here? Was I too late? I'm so sorry! It's just that with the attack on the Hokage, I couldn't leave! Where is he?" He frantically ran towards her, a yellow flash. "Are you all right? Is he all right?"

"Calm down Sensei." Kakashi rolled his eyes at the antics of his mentor and crossed his arms over his chest. "You're going to make the baby cry again."

"He's right here." Kushina looked down at her son who dozed off in her arms. "What should we name him?"

Minato gently took his son from her, look down at the baby with all the love he had. Sure the baby was a little red and wrinkled, but he was absolutely perfect to him. "I dunno. Maybe a name out of Jiraiya-Sensei's adventure novels? I like the Gutsy Ninja one." He stared at his son in absolute marvel, completely entranced with the little baby. "Hi there! I'm your Daddy!" Minato cooed at his son who woke up with a grumpy cry.

"He's acting stupid again." Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest, flipping his uniform collar up so that it was covering his lower half of his face. "You know, he's been like this for nine months now." The young man complained to Kushina who laughed at him.

"Minato's just excited for the baby. He'll snap out of it… soon." They stared at Minato who started mimicking animal faces in hopes of quieting the baby. The frog one was the most convincing. "Hopefully…" Kushina said dryly, trailing off when Minato began to babble to their son like an idiot.

"Who's my cutest, smartest, ittle bitty little boy in the whole wide world? You are! You are!" He tickled the infant, completely wrapped around the child's finger already.

"Minato-Sensei!" Kakashi's curt voice cut Minato's tirade and a serious look replaced the previous goofy one on the blond man's face. "We don't have long." He reminded him, giving Kushina a half pitying glance. "I'll be waiting outside. Congratulations, Kushina-san." The silver haired man softly shut the door behind him, leaving the young couple to their own privacy.

Handing their son back to his mother, Minato's brilliant blue eyes gazed into her own with sorrow. "I have to go." He said softly, a hand brushing back a strand of bright red hair. "I'm so sorry that I have to leave you and our son now of all times."

"I understand." Kushina whispered back, blinking away her tears. "We can name our son when you return." Putting on a smile in spite of her emotions, she added, "That means you have to return to us, you hear me? We can't have our child be nameless for the rest of his life!"

Returning the smile, Minato nodded. "I promise." A gently hand cupped the baby's little head and Minato gave one last loving look at his child. "I love you both." He kissed Kushina's cheek and his little baby's forehead before drawing away. There had never been a more prouder moment in his life, as he looked at his small family.

"And I love you too."

* * *

><p>Sarutobi held back a urge to sigh out loud as he saw Minato's bright yellow hair. He'd hoped that the man had refused this mission. It just didn't seem fair to make a new father risk his life on a dangerous mission like this one. If anything, the man felt like Kakashi was well able to handle leading this team but being the overprotective mentor Minato was, he was probably the first to insist his name be chosen.<p>

He pulled the man aside, speaking in low tones. "You don't have to do this, Minato. You have a family now.

"As do the rest of my men." Minato replied, face solemn and somber. "They're someone's husband, father, brother, son… I have a duty as their leader to join them." In an effort to reassure his old friend, he smiled. "It'll be fine." He patted Sarutobi's shoulder once before straightening his back to address the men assembled before him.

"Sensei!" Kakashi was the first to stand up, saluting him. The rest of his team quickly followed suite.

"At ease men." Minato returned the salute, looking at his people with nothing but respect and understanding. "At 09 hours this morning, there was an attempted attack on our Niidaime Hokage. Intelligence reported back just two hours ago that Earth Country is responsible. This is a Sweep Mission. It is highly dangerous and covert. No one can know that Fire Country is responsible for what is about to happen."

"Sensei?" Kakashi questioned him, realization dawning in his eyes.

"This mission will be blacklisted. I am only asking for volunteers. Those who are willing to accept, please hand your dog tags to Sarutobi." Minato was the first to take his off, the slight jingle of metal the only indication that he handed it over to the older man. "If you die tonight, no one will ever know. Fire Country will deny your existence."

Kakashi was the second to follow, mimicking his teacher's actions. Obito and Rin, his best friends since boot camp added theirs to the pile. One by one, every person in the tent handed in their identification tags without hesitation. For Minato, they were willing to follow him to the ends of the earth.

"All right. Suit up." Minato clapped his hands together. "The objective is to eliminate Earth's General who is alleged to be responsible for this morning's attack." Earth Country's military uniforms were passed around as everyone began shrugging out of their own. Minato tried flattening his yellow hair so that a Captain's cap could fit over it. Tucking the last strands of his noticeable hair inside the cap, only his bangs were visible.

"Man Kakashi, you look just like a Stoner!" Obito laughed at Kakashi's outfit, which was identical to his.

"Go look at yourself in the mirror." He retorted, customarily flipping the collar upwards so it covered the lower half of his face. The young man re-holstered his handgun and knives into his new clothes. They felt itchy and a bit too big for him and the drab gray and tan colors looked just plain wrong. He didn't want to think about where Fire Country procured these uniforms; they looked authentic enough.

"Guys! We all look like we're from Earth Country, isn't that the point?" Rin, ever the peace maker calmed the two boys down with a sweet smile. "Obito, you're forgetting your goggles." She handed the orange eyewear to the dark haired young man who blushed when their hands touched briefly. "Or you might start to cry on the battlefield again." Rin teased him.

"I-I told you! It was just dirt in my eyes!" Obito spluttered, yanking the goggles over his head.

As Sarutobi and Minato watched the antics of the trio, the older man sadly shook his head. "They're so young." He commented.

"And you're so old. Your retirement is a well-deserved one. You served this country long enough on the battlefield." Minato told his old friend in a light tone. "Take care of those. It's who we are." He motioned at the twenty-one metal tags hanging from Sarutobi's hands. "We're going to want those back you know." It was a good time to joke, as it was too serious to do anything else.

"God speed Minato." Sarutobi clasped Minato's shoulders tightly. "I leave it up to you now."

Minato just nodded once.

* * *

><p>"Luckily enough, the General lives close enough to the ocean for us to infiltrate the premises via water. We swim onshore and enter his house. Leave no witnesses." Minato hated missions like these where lives couldn't be spared but it had to be done. "Including children." He looked each person in the eye, not one turned away. "I will be leading the strike team. Once the General is dead, we immediately pull back."<p>

"And if the mission becomes compromised?" Kakashi asked.

A grim expression flashed across Minato's face. "It cannot be. We must not let it." The heaviness of his words hung about the small room of the boat. "There is too much at stake here to let it." He thought of his newborn son and wife waiting for him back at home. If war broke out between Earth and Fire Countries than countless lives would be lost. It was his responsibility to stop such war from happening.

Everyone understood the message.

"Captain Minato… we've arrived."

Nodding, Minato smiled for everyone's sake. "All right men and women." He added for Rin's benefit. "It's been an honor serving with you. Move out!"

One by one, they jumped into the cold water and carefully swam to shore. They didn't dare risk using a flashlight so they only relied on the dim glow of the moon to see. Minato used a breast-stroke to get himself to the beach, the first soldier to reach land.

Stealthily running towards the mansion, Minato could already see the guards patrolling around the premises. Signaling his men to circle around, he slipped into the shadows and waited for them to pass by him. Just as they turned their backs, Minato leapt out and swiftly killed them with his knife.

Ignoring the blood on his hands, he motioned two of his men to clear the bodies as he moved on. So far no one noticed their brief scuffle and Minato planned on keeping it that way. According to his information, the General's room was on the top most corner of the west wing. Mentally groaning at the prospect of fighting all the way to the third floor, Minato readily killed another guard.

By the time they reached the second floor, there were more guards and Minato was forced to use his gun. Although there was a silencer on it, the gunshot sound let off more attention than Minato liked.

"Sensei!" Kakashi cried out in warning a little to late.

Someone came up behind him and slashed his leg.

_Shit_.

If there was one thing Minato was known for, it was his speed in combat- his mobility was cut in half now. Gritting his teeth in pain, Minato ignored the blood dripping down his leg and shot the enemy in the head. "I'm fine." He tried waving off Kakashi who disposed of another guard for him.

"You're bleeding." He helped Minato lean against him, looking at the nasty wound. It looked like it needed several stitches.

"I'm fine." Minato repeated himself, not quite sure if he was trying to convince himself or Kakashi more.

* * *

><p>"If the public ever finds out about this, we're done for." Homura testily spoke out, glancing around the four other occupants of the room. "We'll have war on our hands."<p>

"Which is why I propose that we erase all evidence of this mission." Orochimaru spoke smoothly, golden eyes glimmering.

"That is unacceptable!" Sarutobi raised his voice, his hands trembling slightly with anger. "We owe it to those men to bring them safely home!" Minato's smiling face and his waiting family flashed in his mind's eye and he almost lost his temper. To think that his own former student would even propose such notions!

"Sarutobi, consider the options here. Twenty-one men for the sake of an entire country." Fugaku smoothly waved aside Sarutobi's burst of anger. "It's easy to see the choice we have to make."

"At what cost?"

"Sarutobi. If Earth country ever links the events of tonight to us, we can have a third world war here. As a survivor of the last world war, you can attest to how devastating another one so soon would be." Danzo tried to reason with his former comrade in arms. "The mission tonight must never have happened."

"These are good men with families!" Sarutobi raged, slamming his hands down on the table. "I will not stand by and let you do that to them! It's our responsibility to bring them back home!"

Koharu interrupted Sarutobi. "And it is our responsibility to the citizens of this country to keep them safe! I'm sorry old friend, but this must be done to preserve the peace. We can have a vote. All those in favor."

All but Sarutobi raised their hands.

"You cannot do this." He said, knowing that he was helpless in this situation. Five against one, he was easily overruled. "You cannot do this." Repeating again, he realized the futility of the situation. "I will not just stand by and allow you to let these men die!"

"Then you find yourself with treason." Danzo threatened Sarutobi. "What will it be?"

Sinking down, Sarutobi felt wearier than he had ever had in years. "I am against this. We will have blood on our hands that we will never be able to wash away." He repeated himself but offered nothing else to show his resistance. What could he do? He was powerless against them. _Minato, forgive me_. He though, tears pricking his eyes.

* * *

><p>"They got him. Come on Sensei, let's go!" Kakashi helped Minato limp back outside, never once leaving his side. "We're almost there! Pretty soon, we can go home and you can see your family."<p>

Minato grunted in response, focusing solely on just walking else the pain was to much to bear. The way back was met with less resistance since most the guards were either dead or run away and he had no problems shooting.

The salt water was not going to be fun, he realized when his leg burned the moment he got into the water. "Ouch…" He gnashed his teeth together, trying not to yell out in pain.

"You're being such a baby Sensei." Kakashi started swimming, pulling on Minato. He ignored at how much blood the other man had lost and was still steadily loosing. "Obito's not being a help like always…" He rolled his eyes when Obito breezily started doing backstrokes past them. They could only assume that Obito didn't see how injured Minato was or else the dark haired young man would've put up a loud (and unwanted) commotion.

"Hah… don't mind him Kakashi. Obito's always been… like that." Minato struggled to string together his words, feeling light-headed and so tired. He knew that it was because of all the blood loss but at the moment all he could do was float cooperatively while Kakashi tugged him along. Just the thought of moving his injured leg was enough to have him wince in pain.

"Wait until Rin sees you. She's going to have kittens…" Rin was their field medic and whenever anyone got hurt, she made you feel bad enough to start apologizing to her for getting injured.

"I don't… doubt that… for a second." Minato gave a shaky laugh. "I see the boat. We've made it Kakashi…" Relief flooded his system and his lingering misgivings faded.

Quiet cheers went around the team and Shibi Aburame reached out first to climb aboard. He reached up for the first rung when someone came on deck. Minato knew the sound of a safety clicking off, even from at the distance he was across the water and the noise of the waves. He tried yelling to warn Shibi but it was too late.

The man body fell backwards into the water and his team broke out in confusion.

"Wait! We're on your side! We're from Fire-" Rin cried out.

"Rin!" Obito pushed her aside, catching her intended bullet.

"Obito!" She screamed, and a second shot silenced her forever.

Frozen in horror, Kakashi could only watch as his teammates died one bye one. He couldn't even try to swim away because his body refused to cooperate. Later he realized that it probably was the reason why he didn't get shot at first. "Obito… Rin…" He whispered, watching as Chouza died next. The big and kind man was always the one who insisted that everyone ate out for dinner once in a while. "Why… Why is this happening? We're supposed to be one the same side!" He yelled out.

"Kakashi!" Minato heard the gunshot first, his body already moving with the little strength he had left. Dunking Kakashi underwater and using his body as a shield, he felt the bullet pierce his upper left chest. The younger man struggled to get free, but Minato somehow held him underwater.

It was dark and hard to see. The sniper wouldn't be able to see Kakashi like this, Minato reasoned with his foggy mind although if he held him underwater any much longer, he might accidentally drown him…

Kakashi finally broke free of Minato's grasp and surfaced with a loud gasp. Greedily sucking in air, he felt himself being dunked under by Minato again but this time the blond could only half cover him from the sniper's line of sight.

After what seemed like eternity, the boat's engine hummed to life and it sped off. It was finally over.

"Ka…kashi…" Minato's whisper was feeble and weak, blood trickling down his chin.

"Sensei!" Kakashi cried out, holding onto the blond as if he were his lifeline. "You're going to be okay!" He desperately wanted to believe that everything was going to be fine but he knew that it would never be.

"L-listen to me… Please K-Kaka…shi." Minato breathed, struggling to keep his eyes open. "Please take care of Kushina and my son. Promise me…"

"No, you take care of them yourself!" Kakashi didn't care if he was crying now. Who else was going to see anyways? Dimly he realized that he couldn't see out one eye now, a bullet must've grazed it.

"The moment… I got hit with that knife… I knew that I wasn't going to make it out of this one alive… I'm prepared." He gave Kakashi that damning smile, the one that would assure him that everything would be okay. "So please… Promise me."

"I-I promise." Kakashi could feel Minato slipping away. "I'll take care of Kushina-san and your son." He parroted back, feeling numb.

"Good." Minato closed his eyes, body going limp. "That's… good to hear… Thank you, Kakashi…"

"Sensei? Sensei!" Kakashi's broken voice was only a whisper above the noise of the ocean, but to his own ears, it sounded like he was screaming. He didn't know how long he was in the water, or when he let go of his beloved mentor's dead body. All he could remember was the steady thought of _revenge_ coursing throughout his mind.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi pulled out the twenty-one dog tags out from a manila envelope, sorrowfully going through each one until he found Minato's. "I'm so sorry. I've failed you." He said softly to no one in particular as he sat in the darkness of his office. "I didn't mean for this to happen." Suddenly the cold metal's edge against his throat made him realize that someone else was in the room.<p>

"They're all dead because of you." A harsh tone murmured through the dark.

Even without looking at his attacker's face, Sarutobi knew whose voice it was. "I'm truly sorry." He didn't even bother to struggle, as he knew that if he did, Kakashi would easily kill him anyway. "I couldn't stop them. It was five against one… I deserve to die."

"Who are they?" Kakashi pressed his blade a bit harder, but not enough to draw blood yet. "Name them!"

Before Sarutobi could answer a loud knock interrupted them. "Sarutobi? Are you in here?"

"Act as if nothing is wrong." Kakashi slowly released the man. "But the second you give me away is the second you die."

Sarutobi held no doubts to Kakashi's threat; after all, Minato was the one who personally trained him. "Come in!" He cleared his throat, fingers brushing over where Kakashi held his dagger against the skin. "Homura…" Of all the people to visit him…

"Hiruzen… About tonight…" Homura began, sitting down. "I think it's best if matters can be swept under the rug. After all…"

The deadly glare from Sarutobi momentarily stunned him into silence. "I will not forget twenty-one soldiers who died for their country, the very same twenty-one we've betrayed!" The tension was so thick that it could be cut with a knife.

"Well then…" Homura nervously fidgeted, standing up. "Ah, there's this party that I have to attend to in the morning… I best be off… Good night." He quickly fled the room.

Sarutobi looked behind him where he last saw Kakashi hide himself, but saw that he was alone again. There was no signs that Kakashi had even visited. Perhaps Minato trained Kakashi a little too well. "Oh Kakashi…" Sarutobi released a breath he had been holding. Gone from his desk were the dog tags of the fallen soldiers and in it's place was a scribbled note, _Don't think this is all over. _"I'm so sorry…" Sarutobi apologized to the emptiness of the room.

* * *

><p>"Hush now. Daddy's going to be home soon." Kushina set her newborn son down on the patio to hang the laundry up. It had been a few days since he left them and she was discharged from the hospital. Although she should be taking it easy, she felt restless and she started doing the laundry.<p>

Her little son waved his tiny hands up and down, trying to get her attention.

Looking down at the scene before him, Kakashi quickly squished the bubbling feeling of guilt before it could change his mind. He needed to do this, his_ Sensei_ needed him to do this, andhis_ deceased teammates_ needed him to do this. The people responsible needed to pay. Creeping stealthily down, Kakashi quickly swept the baby into his arms while leaving a note in his place.

It wasn't enough to explain the entire situation but it had to do for now.

"Sweetie?" Kushina heard silence for the first time in days. "Sweetie?" She was starting to panic now. The baby was missing! "Where's my baby?" Kushina cried out, frantically searching. Spotting the letter, she read it and started screaming hysterically. "Give my baby back! Give him back!"

By the time she ran out of the front gate, it was too late. Kakashi was long gone with her son.


	2. Chapter 2

[10 years later]

"Sir. The shipments have arrived. Will you be taking a look at them?" A man nervously addressed Kakashi who hadn't looked up from his orange book yet. In fact, the man hadn't even acknowledged his presence. His one visible eye lazily flickered up from his page and he suddenly drew out his gun and shot him. "I thought I specifically told you to never do dealings from Fire Country?" Resuming his reading, he acted like nothing was wrong.

The men around him nervously shifted around, knowing how unpredictable Kakashi was. One moment he was in a good mood, the next you were dead. Even Zabuza was less temperamental than the infamous Hatake Kakashi, and that was saying a lot.

"Dad!" A yellow bundle of sunlight bounced his way over, nearly tackling the tall man over. "Guess what? Guess what?" His light blue eyes were full of excitement until he noticed the dead body. Crinkling his nose at the sight of blood, the boy momentarily became subdued until he remembered why he was so thrilled in the first place.

"Naruto." Kakashi put his book aside and patted the blonde's soft yellow hair. Upon taking Minato's request for his son be to named after one of the characters from Jiraiya's novel, Kakashi named the boy after the main character. It must be a giant cosmic joke to be named after a ramen topping but it seemed fitting for Minato's son who inhaled the stuff like air.

"I beat Haku at shooting today!" Naruto beamed upwards at Kakashi, his small chest puffed with pride. "Even No-Brows complimented me!"

For Zabuza to praise Naruto, the little boy must've been good today. "Show me." He looked down at Naruto with his good eye. That incident ten years ago robbed him of his closest people and also his left eye. He wore an eye patch as well as a face mask to acquiesce his paranoia.

They made their way to the training grounds where people were practicing but already the Shooting range had been cleared out just for the arrival of Kakashi and Naruto. Handing the small boy a 0.22 handgun, Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

Naruto's small hands wrapped around the metal of the gun and he scrunched his face into an intense look of concentration. His finger pulled on the trigger but his arms remained steady as the recoil from the gun would've made most men loose their form. He carefully aimed again and pulled the trigger again and again until the entire clip was emptied. Naruto had hit the target every time although only three were bull's eyes while the rest scattered across the board.

"Again." Kakashi ordered. "Feet more apart, shoulders more stiff. Don't relax your arms before the recoil."

"Kakashi, give the kid a break. All the other brats are lucky enough to hit the damn thing." Zabuza stepped up in Naruto's defense when he saw the crestfallen look on the blonde's face.

Giving Zabuza a hard look, Kakashi whipped out a gun from his holster and shot the target as fast as he could. He emptied the clip within seconds and put his gun away. A hushed whisper fell among the crowd gathered to watch. Every single shot was within the bull's eye, not one outside the line. "Again." Kakashi said sternly.

Naruto wordlessly accepted another clip and tried again. This time his accuracy improved by four more shots.

"Again."

This repeated five more times until Kakashi was satisfied with Naruto's progress. The boy managed to hit the bull's eye ten times. It wasn't perfect but it was getting there. They still had time. The boy looked up at Kakashi with less eagerness than before, but there still was a hopeful glimmer within his light blue eyes that even Kakashi couldn't refuse.

"That was acceptable." He sighed, running a hand through his silvery hair. It seemed he said the magic words because immediately Naruto perked up and resumed his natural sunny self once more.

"Really? That was awesome right? The last one I got _ten_ in the bull's eye. Even Haku hasn't done that before! Right? Right? Hey Haku! You saw me, right?" Naruto bubbled with enthusiasm as he bounced over to his best friend who amicably agreed. "Hey, Dad! You gotta admit, I was pretty amazing!"

"You've got a long ways to go before you're 'amazing.' Go run three laps before your hand-to-hand lesson." Kakashi couldn't help but keep the pride out of his tone. It only seemed like yesterday when he smuggled himself and an infant Naruto out of Fire Country and into Wave via a small fishing boat. The little boy grew up so fast and looked remarkably like Minato with each passing day.

"Aww Dad!" Naruto complained loudly but did as he was told, breaking into a steady jog. Somehow the boy managed to convince Haku into joining him and the two started having a race to see who would finish first.

"You're too hard on him." Zabuza was the only one in their village who dared to speak to Kakashi like that. "He's just a brat."

Idly looking up at Zabuza, Kakashi commented, "Did you say something?" before ambling along, his face buried behind an orange book.

* * *

><p>"Yo, Haku! You awake?" Naruto crept into his friend's room with all the stealth he learned over the years. For a hyperactive blonde bouncy ball, he could be quiet like a ghost.<p>

"I am now." Haku got up and looked at Naruto wearily. "What do you want Naruto-kun?"

"Let's go to town!" Naruto whispered conspiringly, a foxy grin fixed upon his features.

"If Hatake-san finds out, we'll be in so much trouble." Haku reasoned, shuddering as he recalled the last time they were in trouble. He'd never seen the older man look so livid before; he half expected to be shot that day.

Scoffing, Naruto already found Haku's shoes and tossed them over at him. "That's why we're not gonna get caught. Come on, it's Wave's Moonlight festival. We _have_ to go." He begged the older boy, giving him a look that no one could refuse. "It's gonna be Tsunami's birthday soon. I wanna get her something nice." Naruto mumbled, face lightly blushing. She was the closest Naruto had to a mother figure and he loved her like she was his real blood mother.

Giving Naruto a calculating gaze, Haku gave in. Naruto's stubborn streak was worse than a donkey's and the blonde would be here all night pestering him until he gave in anyways. He pulled on a black sweatshirt he said, "Zabuza-san is not here tonight. He's on patrol duty. We can use the front door." He said with a bemused smile. Naruto had gotten into the habit of using windows and scaling buildings to enter homes to avoid getting caught.

"Ugh." Naruto groaned in response. That meant that they had to be extra vigilant tonight if they wanted to sneak outside their village. Zabuza was just at good as his dad and just as paranoid. If there was so much as a rustle of grass on his watch, it was his habit to shoot first and ask questions later. "Just our luck."

"You're the one who wanted to go to the festival." Haku smiled at Naruto. "If you don't want to…"

"Of course I'm going!" He hotly retorted, one leg already out the window. "Come on!" Naruto jumped down, landing noiselessly on the grass below.

"Maa, I said we could use the front door." Haku sighed. Pocketing some senbon needles, he grabbed his wallet at the last second. It didn't hurt to be prepared. The thirteen year old boy sometimes felt years older than he really was when it came to the welfare of the ten year old blonde.

As quietly as they could, they snuck around the village guards. They both had their hoodies pulled up around their hair and Naruto even had a scarf tied around his face, a mockery of Kakashi's face mask. The two were mindful of the scattered land mines placed all around the area and opted to take the longer route in lieu of being blown to pieces. Haku was glad for his insight to wear a long sleeved sweatshirt instead of just his normal wear because the scraggly branches and thorns hurt even with the extra cloth covering his arms.

"Ow!" Naruto hissed when he smacked his head on a low branch. "That hurt!"

"Shh!" Haku hurriedly covered Naruto's mouth and the two boys stood absolutely still as they heard footsteps. He prayed that it wasn't Zabuza-san or Hatake-san or else they were as good as dead. With bated breaths, they waited in the darkness for whoever it was to go away but the footsteps got closer and closer. At this rate, they were going to get caught!

Naruto slowly reached down for a small rock and carefully picked it up without making a rustle. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the pebble in the opposite direction and they waited with bated breath. Immediately it had the desired effect because the footsteps rushed towards that direction. "Make a run for it!" Naruto whispered before taking off into the woods.

Haku followed the blonde, ducking under branches and bushes expertly. How many times he'd done this, he lost track but every time he dashed through the woods it would send his heart beating and adrenaline racing. It was exhilarating. When they were far away enough from the village, the two boys looked at each other before bursting out in laughter.

"We did it!" Naruto cheered, raising a triumphant fist. He was breathing harshly and his hood had fallen back to reveal his shocking yellow hair, but his face was absolutely glowing. "C'mon! Let's go!"

"Now we have to worry about sneaking back in." Haku worried quietly, knowing that it was always harder getting in than sneaking out. That's how Hatake-san caught them last time.

"We'll worry about that later! Look at the snacks! I've never had those before! Let's get some!" Naruto tugged on Haku's sleeve, dragging the older boy along. It was hard to refuse Naruto when he was in such a good mood and Haku found himself reminding the other boy to save enough money to buy Tsunami-san's present.

While trying to enjoy himself, Haku kept one vigilant eye out for any of their village men just in case they also had the same idea of having a fun night out. They wouldn't hesitate twice about turning them in to Hatake-san for some reward. "Naruto-kun, don't get lost." He had to catch Naruto's sweatshirt three times before the blonde could slip away into the crowd.

"But look at that!" Naruto pointed at either a street game or snack stand and quickly dragged Haku along. "This is so cool!" He _squealed_, jumping up and down in place. "I've never played that game before!" It was a simple throw the ball into the hoop type of game except instead of a hoop, you had to get the shot into an electronically moving hippo mouth. It required precise aim and timing.

Haku looked at the amount of money per game and shook his head. While it would be a rip-off for most people, this would be child's play for someone of Naruto's caliber. They had knife throwing lessons every day where the prize would be dinner or a bed to sleep in for the night, not some cheap toy animal.

"Hey old man! I want to play!" Naruto slammed down the appropriate amount of money on the counter and eagerly held his hands out.

"Eh? Sure. You get three shots kid."

"I only need one." Naruto confidentially stated, picking up a ball and tossing it up and down a few times in his hand. Looking at the target, Naruto easily threw the ball into the mouth and cheered loudly. "I won! I won!"

The blonde wanted to take home the giant teddy bear but Haku had to remind him gently that there was no way that they could haul that thing back home without getting caught so he suggested the nice necklace for Tsunami-san instead. It was a pretty little silver necklace with a spiral shaped pendant studded with (Haku was sure it was fake) diamonds.

"I'm sure she'll like it." Haku said with a soft smile.

"It's really pretty!" Naruto exclaimed, holding it up to the light. "Of course she'll like it! I got it for her!"

They walked down the busy street, enjoying the night. It was a rare treat for the two to have fun like this and they made sure to make the most of it. The younger boy chatted about anything and everything, obviously in a good mood. Even Haku relaxed enough to momentarily forget about keeping an eye out for the village's men.

"You little brat! You think you can get away with this?" A man roared, the sound of someone backhanding someone broke Naruto and Haku's conversation about what was under Kakashi's mask.

"No… Naruto, mind your own…" Haku trailed off with a sigh. "Business…" Of course Naruto had to go and play the knight in shining armor. He had a sinking feeling that they were going to be in so much trouble by the end of the night. Maybe if they were lucky enough, Hatake-san could just string them upside down a tree?

Naruto grabbed the nearest object that he could throw with- conveniently an apple off a cart and hurled it as hard as he could across the canal. It hit its mark and the man roared in surprise and pain.

"What the hell?" He frantically looked around to see who was responsible. Finally looking through the broken window, he saw a little boy sticking his tongue out at him before throwing the other apple in his hand. It hit his head again with enough force to knock him backwards. "What are you waiting for? Get him!"

Five men ran out of the building, armed with clubs and bats. Luckily for Naruto, they didn't have any guns on them. Crossing the canal was easy enough for the thugs because of the passing long boats but Naruto was swifter than them and easy jumped from boat to boat nimbly without loosing his balance.

"Nyyyaa! Is that all you got? What a bunch of losers!" Naruto teased them, pulling down an eye while sticking out his tongue again. "My grandma can beat you guys all up with her hands tied behind her back!" He didn't know his grandmother, but he assumed that if he did, she'd be pretty kick-ass.

"Naruto-kun! Don't antagonize them!" Haku sounded a bit exasperated while following the younger boy. Naruto ran into the building, leaving Haku to deal with the four thugs. "Please, I'd rather not have to fight." Haku tried to reason with them, holding his hands up peacefully. The first henchman rushed forwards, holding no qualms about hitting a kid half his size.

Ducking past the first blow, Haku easily sidestepped him and disposed of the first man with a powerful spin kick to the head. Raising his arms to block the next attack, the feminine boy slid forward while using the momentum to knock the next man off balance and twisted his upper body just in time to avoid being hit by the next man. Unfortunately for his friend, he ended up punching him just before Haku knocked him out. Landing lightly on his feet, Haku faced the final thug and smiled sweetly at him in a defensive stance.

For a full second the last thug stood there, terrified before running away, screaming like a little girl.

_I hope Naruto-kun is doing all right…_ Haku thought, looking up at the building. He heard a loud crash and a string of cursing followed by Naruto's yelling. _Maybe I should go get help…_ He deadpanned.

* * *

><p>"You hit like a girl! Nah, you hit worse than a girl!" Naruto taunted the boss, giving him the finger while he was at it. He stood protectively between him and a red-haired boy around to be his age. He got hit once and he wasn't keen on getting a second taste. His face was throbbing from the punch and Naruto hoped that it wasn't going to bruise later. His dad was going to kill him if it did.<p>

"Why you!" The man lunged for him and Naruto pulled the boy off the ground at the last second.

"Run!" He yelled, still holding onto the other boy's hand. Jumping down the stairs three at a time. "Here!" Taking a sharp left turn, Naruto and the redhead disappeared into the bustling crowd, taking care to make it as difficult as possible for the gangsters to follow them. He knew this town like the back of his hand and it was ridiculously easy how two small children can easily hide in the nooks and crannies.

Panting for breath, he turned to the other boy and beamed at him. "Hiya. I'm Naruto. What's your name? Why were those bad guys hitting you? Where you from? Coz you don't look like you're from the Wave Country. I think your from maybe Wind? I heard that's where all the redheads are. What's it like living in a desert? I betcha you've never seen this much water before!"

The other boy just stared at him with a look of disbelief on his face. "I am… Gaara." He said softly, green eyes fearfully darting around their surroundings as if expecting to be captured by those men again.

"Cool! Nice to meet you!" Naruto's uncanny ability to make friends had the poor boy at ease in no time. "Where's your parents? Do they know that those bad guys were picking on you?"

Hesitating when Naruto unknowingly poised the very question that hit too close to home, Gaara remained quiet and looked down at the ground instead. He didn't want to tell him, he didn't want to remember…

"I guess if you don't wanna tell me, it's all right." Naruto shrugged Gaara's unwillingness to talk with remarkable ease for someone his age whose curiosity had no limits. More often than not, Kakashi quipped that one of these days, his curiosity was going to kill him. "But wanna tell me why those guys were beating you up?" His brilliant blue eyes this time were solemn and didn't have its usual sparkle of mischief.

"I was sold to them… from Wind Country." Gaara slowly said, his small hand clenching together so tightly that they almost drew blood. "The deal went bad." He didn't need to explain any more and Naruto's scowl was dark enough to rival Kakashi's.

"Why those bastards! I ought to…"

"There they are!"

"Crap!" Naruto leapt up from his hiding spot, looking panicked. "They found us!" They tried to escape but the thugs blocked off both sides of the alleyway. "Uh oh…"

"Now we got you." The boss savagely leered at them, looming over their small frames. "Ain't so tough now, are you?"

In reality, Naruto wasn't so worried about the thugs. He was talking to his father and his men surrounding the thugs who surrounded them. "Um… Hi Dad…" Naruto said in a small voice, visibly shrinking back. "I can explain…"

The boss whirled around and paled instantly. Everyone in Wave Country knew of Hatake Kakashi and his band of mercenaries. Either you stayed out of his way or prayed to God that he wasn't in a foul temper. From the pissed off look, the boss figured it was the later. "Oh shit…"

"I should thank you really." Kakashi drawled, his entire stance relaxed but somehow he still gave off the air of a dangerous predator. "If it weren't for you and your group, I'd never found my son tonight." His gaze flickered over to Naruto who gave him a shaky smile.

Behind Zabuza's tall and imposing frame, Haku peeked out and gave Naruto a reassuring smile. So the older boy managed to run back to the village in time to call for reinforcements. Too bad that he was probably going to be severely punished for this.

"Please don't shoot them Dad!" Naruto pleaded on their behalf, not wanting to be directly responsible for their deaths. "Well, maybe the fat one." He pointed at the boss. "But not everyone has to die."

"Hey!"

Kakashi carefully contemplated his options and decided that dealing with dead bodies would be too much of a hassle to clean up. Pulling out his gun, he unlocked the safety and pointed at the boss. "If I ever see you around here again, I won't hesitate to kill you and your men."

"Y-yes sir!" The boss spluttered and took off as if hell was right behind him.

"Naruto." Kakashi grabbed the back of the boy's hoodie before he could take off and glared at him. "We're going home and then we can talk."

The blonde visibly gulped.

* * *

><p>Haku held back a wince when Naruto got whacked on the head with the Shinai when he blonde let his guard down. Hatake-san was absolutely ruthless tonight. "It's been four hours…" He checked the clock again, subconsciously rubbing his arms when Hatake-san hit Naruto there. The moment they were marched back into the village, Hatake-san had Naruto train like he was going to die.<p>

At this rate, Naruto might really die.

"Too many openings! You're getting sloppy!" Kakashi easily tore through Naruto's defense and hit him several times lightning fast. "Block here! Parry there! Strike at the opportune moment!" He finished by swinging his arm down, breaking Naruto's Shinai in half. "You're going to get killed if you continue to be like this!"

Breathing harshly, Naruto dropped the pieces of his bamboo sword and raised his hands up and fell into a defensive stance. He hadn't said a word the moment his training began. He didn't have a chance to.

Kakashi feinted a left jab, quickly closing the distance between them and knocked Naruto down to the ground. "Again! Always be light on your feet." This time he used his leg to sweep the blonde over, catching Naruto off guard again. "Your enemies won't wait for you to be ready."

"Arrg!" Naruto yelled, charging recklessly at his dad with raised fists. Quickly hitting Kakashi with everything he had, Naruto's speed became sluggish and the boy finally was reduced to tears although it was hard to tell with all that mud and grime on him. But Naruto didn't give up.

Finally, Kakashi took pity on the boy and said quietly, "That's enough." However Naruto didn't stop. "That's enough Naruto!" He grasped the boy's small wrists together on one movement and held them above the boy's head. The blonde began to scream and twist around, trying to use his legs to kick Kakashi instead.

"I hate you!" Naruto shouted. "Why do I have to do this when no one else does? Why? All the other kids do normal stuff! Why can't I?"

At this, Haku felt that it became too personal to watch and quietly excused himself. He politely ushered the other men out of the general vicinity with a soft (but threatening) smile. Looking down at the boy Naruto rescued, Haku gently placed a hand on his head. He pretended not to notice the way Gaara flinched at his contact. "Come on. I bet you're hungry. We have food in the kitchens."

"You are not like the other kids." Kakashi said in a deadly tone, his voice never rising but it was threatening all the same. "You have a destiny to fulfill."

"I don't want it! I don't want it!" Naruto screamed, sobbing loudly.

Kakashi patiently waited until Naruto cried himself out. Tentatively giving the boy an awkward hug, he pulled out a tissue from his back pocket and gave it to Naruto to blow his nose on. "It happened ten years ago." Kakashi closed his eye, recalling the painful memories from the back of his mind. He could almost smell the saltiness of the ocean and the hushed crashing of the waves against the beach.

Sniffing, Naruto asked, "What happened?"

"Ten years ago, Earth Country initiated an attack on Fire Country. I was part of an elite team sent out on the most covert of operations." He could almost imagine himself on that boat with his teammates. Minato-Sensei's confident and assuring grin, Obito's annoying antics, Rin's sweet smile… "I was sent as a part of a team to eliminate the targets that were considered a threat to Fire Country. We succeeded but then we were betrayed by our own country."

Naruto's wide blue eyes stared up at him. "Did… did anyone else survive?" He whispered, his small hand reaching out to trace Kakashi's eye patch.

"No." Kakashi's throat constricted uncomfortably as he drew away. "I was the only one." It was all that Naruto was going to learn today. "Wash up and go to bed Naruto." Kakashi almost made it inside when Naruto's little voice broke through years of self-control.

"What happened to my mom?"

"You don't have one. She died." Kakashi lied, trying to get the echoes of Kushina's cries that night out of his head. "Go to bed Naruto."

Within the privacy of his room, Kakashi pulled down his mask and wearily pulled out a faded photo from his pocket. It was worn and crinkled, and the crease down the middle almost tore the paper in half. There was a picture of him, Kushina, and Minato; it was a candid shot that maybe Rin or Obito manage to capture while they had a rare day off together.

"I'm so sorry, Sensei… Kushina-san." He whispered brokenly, leaning his head against the wall.

* * *

><p>"Naruto-kun… are you all right?" Haku stuck a Band-Aid on the boy's whiskered face- those six marks were caused by a training accident six years ago when they were too rambunctious and stupid enough to mess around with pipe bombs.<p>

"Yeah, I am." Naruto mumbled, trying to cover up his emotions. "I told, I'm okay."

"Hold still." Admonished Haku gently as he dabbed another of Naruto's wounds with a cotton swab and opened another packet of plasters. "Hatake-san went easy on you tonight." If he hadn't, it would be more than Band-Aids that Naruto needed.

"Ow! That stings!" Naruto winced but Haku's firm grip on him prevented the boy from worming away. "By the way, where's Gaara?"

"Sleeping." Haku answered him. "By which, you should too as well."

With a whimper, Naruto buried his face into his hands. "It's survival training tomorrow, isn't it?"

"More like in a few hours." The older boy mildly corrected him. "Zabuza-san has agreed to watch out for Gaara-kun for the time being until Hatake-san decides what to do with him."

"Well Dad's not gonna _shoot_ him… right?" Alarm colored Naruto's expression and he automatically looked over where his father's room was. "I mean, Gaara's just a kid. He's not a threat to no one!"

"You know the rules. No outsiders." Haku shook his head. "But I highly doubt that Hatake-san will hurt a child."

"Good." Naruto sagged with relief. "I'm sore already." He complained, his arms protesting with agony already. "You know Haku… Sometimes I get the feeling that Dad's not telling me the whole truth."

"Adults forget that we can handle the entire truth better than they can most the time." Haku replied carefully, choosing his words cautiously. "I'm sure when the day comes, Hatake-san will tell you everything."

"My mom's alive. I know she is." Naruto closed his exhausted eyes. "Dad wouldn't go through all this trouble of keeping even a single photo from me if she wasn't dead."

Haku didn't say anything in response.


	3. Chapter 3

[7 years later]

"Where's Naruto?" Kakashi asked his men who were supposed to be keeping watch over his wayward son. There was an explosion in the distance and immediately everyone jumped.

"Sir! Another mine has been set off… by a monkey sir!" Someone radioed in their report. Only one idiot was stupid enough, conniving enough to have their pet monkey set off their carefully hidden land mines and not have any casualties.

"Naruto!" Kakashi face palmed, knowing that only that boy can cause so much trouble.

"Naruto-kun!" Haku exclaimed, tweaking the tall blonde's ear ruthlessly. "Pay for those!"

Laughing, Naruto ran a hand through his untamed shaggy yellow hair. Out of sheer teenage rebellion, he purposely kept it at this length because he knew that it drove his dad crazy for some reason. "Aww, you know that those are just gonna end up at the village anyways! Isn't that right, Gaara?" Nevertheless he flipped the fruit vendor a few coins before biting into the apple with a loud crunch.

Gaara rolled his eyes at the antics of his friend and choose to ignore him.

"We should head back." Haku's lips thinned together as he checked the time. "Saru-chan's probably been discovered by now."

Green eyes turned disbelievingly at Naruto and Gaara openly stared at him. "You set your pet monkey loose in the mine field as a distraction?" It would've sounded like an accusation if he hadn't monotoned the entire thing.

"Not intentionally…" Naruto dodged the topic of matter expertly and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, kinda? I mean, Saru-chan needed the exercise anyways and I didn't want to set those off myself… Better him than me?" As time passed, Naruto's prankster tendencies only grew worse and the entire village was becoming hard-pressed to keep up.

"Don't worry Gaara-kun. If Hatake-san asks, we were on patrol with Kaiza-san the entire time." Haku reassured Gaara who looked like he wanted to throttle Naruto with his bare hands.

Naruto grinned at his two best friends and knew that despite Haku's subtle threat of letting him get the brunt of the consequences, Haku wouldn't follow through. If anything, the older boy probably already secured a solid alibi just for him alone. "Now you're just being mean Haku."

They walked along the canal-side, with Naruto's interest catching every new stand or food cart. While they were strolling through town, the three boys didn't miss the tall-tale signs of another gang encroaching on their territory. Lately there were rumors that Gatou and his men were trying to claim this place as their own.

Gaara started bristling like an angry cat when he saw graffiti sprayed all over the street walls. "How dare they!" He growled lowly, glaring at the offensive message scrawled about. "I'll kill them."

"No need for killing." Naruto pacified the redhead. "I'm sure they'll clear their way through this town soon enough." Gaara could be a little… trigger impulsive as it turned out and the last thing they needed was a blood bath. "Maa, hey look! These are from Water Country!" It was the latest manga volume that Naruto liked to keep updated on. It was about some crazy ninja in an orange jumpsuit.

"Please leave me alone!" A man cried out suddenly.

"Gatou don't want no books. He wants his money!" Four big brutes surrounded a man threateningly, all looking like they were up to no good.

"I-I don't understand? Why do I have to pay a fee if he's not the landlord here?" The man looked scared but he had enough guts to stand his own ground against four men who were all bigger than him by two fold.

"No Naruto-kun… We should mind our own…" Haku sighed as it was too late. The other boy was already gone. "Business." Turning to Gaara he said placidly, "This was how we ended up with you last time."

The other boy just shrugged in response.

"Look. Gatou's a business man. He's got this real respectable joint set up here but how's it gonna work if he gets no money?"

"Not from honest and respectable people through dishonest means!" The man spat back, dark eyes furious.

Before the thugs could hit the man, Naruto smirked and hurled the rock in his right hand as hard as possible, hitting his intended mark. "Hey! Why don't you go and run back to Cake-Bastard to get the hell outta town? We don't want the likes of you scum hanging around here!"

"Agggh!"

"Waraji!" His friend drew out his sword. "I'll get you for that you little punk!"

"See if you can, Tattoo-face!" Naruto launched himself forwards, catching them off guard. Kicking the sword out of his hands, the blonde quickly spun himself around and pushed the other two thugs into the water. "Man, what a bunch of losers!" He laughed, flipping them off. "Had enough yet?"

"You're gonna get it!" Waraji pulled out his own weapon, a massive cleaver.

Naruto didn't seem to mind the challenge; in fact he welcomed it. He was too fast for Waraji to hit and Zori, his companion didn't have a weapon to be considered as a threat. Weaving in between the strikes, Naruto purposely danced around him, hopping in and out of striking range just to tease him.

"You all right?" Haku offered a steady hand to the man who looked like he was in a daze. Helping him up to his feet, he handed the man his dropped belongings.

"Is… Is he going to okay?" The man couldn't keep his eyes off the fight.

Gaara studied the two thugs before quickly loosing interest. "They're not worthy enough to be even killed." He declared, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Ignore Gaara-kun." Haku laughed lightly, dismissing the redhead's conclusion. "Naruto-kun will be fine. He's been in worse scraps than this before. I'm Haku by the way. What's your name?"

"Um… Umino Iruka." He said, rubbing the scar across his nose. "Thank you for helping me out…"

"Thank Naruto-kun. Oh look, he's just about finished."

Sure enough, the blonde knocked out the two with a powerful spinning kick and landed on his feet gracefully. "Yeah, up yours assholes!" He stuck out his tongue at the two groaning henchmen. Sauntering over, he stuck out his hand and said, "Hi! My name is Naruto! Nice to meet you!"

"You bring another Outsider in here, again!" Kakashi tried not to raise his voice, but he was _so _close to loosing his temper that everyone in the general vicinity automatically took a step back. "I thought the incident with Gaara was enough." Where did the sweet little toddler who'd do anything for his dear daddy go? When did this hellish, mule-headed rebellious _teenager_ replace his little blonde mop of fluff?

"Gatou's men are after them. I couldn't just sit by and watch." Naruto shrugged, face lighting up when his monkey jumped into his lap. "Oh hey Saru-chan! You're alive! By the way, his name is Umino Iruka and he says he's from Fire Country. I've never met anyone from there before-" The moment Naruto mentioned Kakashi's former country, the man already drew out his gun. "No Dad! Don't shoot him!"

"Hatake-san, I'd advise you to reconsider your actions." Haku diplomatically placed himself between Iruka and Kakashi. "I can assure you that Umino-san means no harm." Everyone knew how Kakashi _loathed_ anything and anyone that had to do with that nation. "Gatou's men were trying extort from his humble book stand."

"They're causing trouble in town." Gaara added to Naruto's defense. "We should eliminate the problem immediately."

A typical Gaara response.

Slowly lowering his arm down, but still wary of Iruka, Kakashi asked, "What can you do?"

"E-excuse me?" Iruka was sure that this Kakashi person wasn't going to outright kill him now, but he was still nervous.

"What skills do you posses?" Kakashi repeated himself, his voice a little biting. "Seeing that you know the location of our village you are not allowed to leave here alive."

Iruka couldn't stop gaping at him. "L-leave here a-alive?" He sounded faint and started to wobble on his feet a bit.

"Think of it as a good thing! Gatou and his men are after you anyways… you'll be safe here!" Naruto tried to make the situation sound better than it really was. "You look like you'd be some sort of teacher or something. You look kinda nerdy enough. Iruka-Sensei. Sound catchy."

"I was… a school teacher before I came to Wave Country…" Iruka admitted.

"That's good." Haku smiled at the man. "The children here are always in need of a good teacher. The last one, what happened to him again?"

Naruto scratched his head absentmindedly. "Oh you mean Mizuki-Dummy? He was caught stealing money from Dad and I think we shot him. Or did we stab him? I kinda forgot. Do you remember Gaara?"

"He was shot." Gaara (un)helpfully supplied.

"Right. Oh yeah, man was Dad ever pissed."

No one noticed that all the color had drained out of Iruka's face, leaving it pastier than a piece of paper.

"Well then _Sensei_." Kakashi lost his interest in the newcomer already. "It'll be Naruto's responsibility to show you around and get you settled here. He'll explain the rules to you and such. Curfew is at ten. Caught breaking it and we won't hesitate to shoot." He turned abruptly and left the room, his men following him.

Bending over in a hushed whisper, Naruto conspiringly whispered, "Don't worry. They don't really. We've been caught sneaking out so many times that they don't shoot at us anymore."

It was actually Haku who showed Iruka where his living quarters were going to be because Naruto really didn't have a clue to where the man would sleep. The blonde admitted that he planned on having Iruka camp it out in his living room before Haku smoothly suggested that the new quarters had just been built and Iruka could stay there and out of sight of Hatake-san.

That man had a cruel streak in him and wouldn't hesitate in making Iruka's life miserable.

"Actually, I think he took it rather well." Naruto fed Saru-chan some fruit bits to keep his pet happy. "Last time I pulled this, he beat me up for four hours."

"It was called training Naruto-kun." Haku found some spare clothes for Iruka and gave them to the man. "There are three meals served at the mess hall everyday. You're responsible for everything else."

"It was torture." Naruto argued back. "Oh yeah, there's the village mandatory training sessions every other day. You can learn how to defend yourself there so next time you won't get your ass handed to you." For Naruto though, everyday was a mandatory training day unless it was some sort of special occasion or dire emergency. Even Haku didn't have as much instruction as he did.

Iruka tried spluttering his own defense but Naruto's attention was already fixated somewhere else and he cheerily waved him goodbye before jumping out the window.

"Don't worry. He always does that. He should be fine." Haku answered Iruka before the man could even have the chance to open his mouth. "He's a bit scatterminded at times but he means well. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask. Gaara-kun, I'm sure that Iruka-Sensei will appreciate that hand grenade once he knows how to properly utilize it. Please put it back without causing an explosion." The feminine boy said so pleasantly that he might as well be talking about the weather.

Gaara scowled but did as he was told, and all Iruka saw was a flash of what he assumed was a grenade. "Good night Sensei."

"Err… Good night to you too…Gaara-kun…"

"Yo! Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto popped in through the window, nearly giving Iruka a heart attack. "Just checking if you're doing okay and all." His light blue eyes spotted a pretty girl in a picture frame and he swung himself inside to pick it up for a closer glance. "Wow, who's she?"

"Oh, her?" Iruka had remarkably taken everything into good stride and was even settling into his new living quarters. His features changed into a sad one, a similar expression that Naruto often saw on his dad's face whenever the older man thought he wasn't looking. "She used to be an old student of mine. Her name is Sakura."

"Sakura." Naruto slowly tested her name out, liking the way the syllables rolled off this tongue. "That's a pretty name! Sakura-chan! Is she related to you? You're way too young to be her dad… are you adopted Iruka-Sensei? Maybe that's why she's so pretty and you're well.. you."

"What's that's supposed to mean?"

"You should take this training a bit more seriously," chided Haku as he finished his shots and set his gun down. Naruto was goofing off as usually, shooting at everything _but_ the target. It made Iruka rather nervous actually. "Gaara-kun, please don't aim at the chicken. Tsunami-san will be angry if her prized hen is dead."

Gaara innocently blinked as he raised his arm a bit higher and shot at the dummies. "I do not know what you are talking about."

"I am being serious! Look Haku! Did you see that? I got that orange up on that branch!" Naruto laughed loudly, finishing his rounds and holstered his gun in one fluid movement. "With my closed! How awesome is that? Hey, Iruka-Sensei, you're holding it all wrong."

Iruka never held a gun in his life was having a poor time trying to aim and shoot straight. It didn't help that every time he pulled the trigger, he flinched and the recoil of the weapon made his arms shake so much that it was lucky if he managed to hit anything at all. "Why do I have to learn this?" He complained, squinting one eye and aiming again.

His next shot hit Tsunami's hen and it died in a pitiful squawk.

"It was not me." Gaara defended himself, holding his hands up in the air.

"Aw, crap." Naruto scratched his head. "Maybe if we can play if off right, we can blame Inari…"

By now, Haku should be accustomed to these daily blooming bursts of migraines but having a complete novice make a kill shot from at an impossible range was pushing close to it. But first, it looked like he needed to consolidate a grieving (and in shock) Iruka.

"I-I killed it! Oh my god! I'm a horrible person!"

The three boys didn't point out that technically Iruka was now a part of an elite mercenary group of outlaws and the death of one chicken was really laughable. If left alone to their own devices, Haku could perfectly dissect a human body (he secretly aspired to become a doctor), Naruto could easily go around and topple some governments (he got bored too easily) and Gaara could go around and paint the town red (they blamed it on Zabuza's bad influence).

Before Haku could point out that Iruka could hardly be considered as a 'horrible' person, his sixth sense flared up and he automatically drew out his favored senbon needles. Naruto and Gaara already had their weapons out- Naruto his gun and Gaara his explosives. Motioning Iruka to be silent, the boys quickly took up positions without even glancing at each other.

Somehow it seemed that Gatou's men found the location of their 'hidden' village. Naruto noted that they were trying to encircle the village and signaled to Haku that they should be mindful of their 6'oclock. Gaara smirked reassuringly at him and mouthed, _Say when_.

_When!_ Naruto mouthed back, running forwards while keeping low.

Something exploded loudly behind them and the thugs were either swearing or silent. The bombs went off three more times before the entire village became silent. It served two purposes, firstly to distract Gatou's men and secondly to raise the alarm in the village.

What Naruto was more interested in was when did Gaara had the time to plant all those explosives. "When did you rig those? Wait, don't tell me. I don't wanna know." He shook his head while shooting three men down. Some things were better left unsaid.

"Where did you get enough explosives for that?" Haku wanted to know the other pressing question. He highly doubted that it was through legal and legit means.

"You're not the only one that uses Saru for distractions." Gaara shrugged, rolling behind an upturned table where Iruka was cowering and threw a flash grenade. "Flare." He pulled Iruka's head down so that their own weapon wouldn't blind the teacher. The three boys closed their eyes before a blinding flash erupted from the small bomb.

"Oh." Naruto jumped behind a fence to hide himself and reloaded his gun in one fluid movement. Picking off the stumbling blind men was kinda sad really. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. "You could ask next time, you know."

"I will do next time," promised Gaara solemnly.

Their quipping came to an abrupt end when Zori and Waraji came out with Tsunami as captive.

Gaara swore, Haku sighed, and Naruto froze. Things got a whole lot more complicated now it became a hostage situation.

"N-Naruto…" Tsunami whispered, tears streaming down her face.

"Tsunami…" Years of training didn't register in his mind; the only thing he could think about was Tsunami getting hurt. "Let her go! She has nothing to do with this!" The only mother-like figure in his life was going to die if he didn't do something.

"Naruto…" Haku warned the blonde, sensing that the other boy was going to do something utterly stupid and life-threatening again.

A resonating crack and Tsunami's frame slumped forwards and something in Naruto _snapped_. Immediately the two men surrounding Zori and Waraji died, the gun barely having enough time to cool down before Naruto aimed it at them. Waraji died first, and Zori had enough sense to start running away.

"Naruto! Come back!" Haku tended to Tsunami, just in case she was alive. "Gaara!" The other boy already started chasing after Naruto. "Tsunami-san." The young man knew that she was dead the moment she was shot and all he could do for her was to close her eyes for the final time. _Poor Inari_… He thought.

Naruto's body was on auto-pilot. Every time he moved, it was out of years of muscle memory. Jump, duck, don't forget to roll, fire, repeat. All he could think about was getting those men what they deserve.

"Naruto!" Gaara's warning came too late.

He heard the click as his foot stepped on the land mine. Body freezing, he dared not to shift his weight around. The slightest amount of movement would kill him. "Damn it." The blonde swore softly, closing his eyes. Gatou's men stopped running and chuckled at his predicament. From pulling at the trigger uselessly, he knew that he was out of ammo too.

Gaara had his weapon out but it was two against him; Naruto would get shot either way.

"Looks like you're out of luck, brat." Zori sneered at him, taking careful aim. A gunshot rang out in quick succession and the thug fell backwards, a scarlet pool of blood quickly blossoming around his wound.

"Dad." Naruto breathed shakily, body filled with relief. "They shot Tsunami- Haku and Gaara- Shit, I'm steeping on a mine!" He babbled, his mind going a million miles a second. "I'm gonna die… Shit!"

"Calm down Naruto. And don't move. Everything will be fine." Kakashi's calm voice steadied the blonde who looked like he was going to cry at any second. "Just keep still." He bent down and took out his knife, keeping eye contact with Naruto. "And if you were a bit more mindful of your surroundings, you wouldn't be in this mess." Kakashi tittered, slowly wedging the blade of his knife under Naruto's shoe.

The young man made a sound that sounded like a mix between hysterical laughter and a pitiable cry. As Kakashi set to work on disarming the dangerous mine, Naruto tried to calm himself so that he wouldn't start shaking like a leaf and trigger the already volatile bomb. "S-sorry Dad…"

"Don't apologize." Kakashi grunted, sparing only the briefest of concentration. They both heard the almost inaudible click and their gazes met for that split second. "Naruto!" Kakashi moved first, knocking his son away from the explosion.

Naruto blacked out.

When he came to moments later, Naruto felt as his entire world had been shook upside-down. Picking himself off the ground, his hazy mind registered that debris were on fire. _Fire? Explosion…. The land mine…_ "Dad! Dad!" Naruto frantically looked around for his father, all feeling dropping from the pit of his stomach and his mouth ran dry. "Shit… Dad! Please be okay… Dad! Help! Someone help!"

Kakashi was lying in a pool of blood, his right leg a bloody mess. He was also unresponsive to Naruto's cries. The last time Naruto openly cried was seven years ago, but as the tears dripped from his cheeks, he could care less. Naruto somehow managed to hoister Kakashi onto his back and started staggering back to the village.

"Na-Naru…" Kakashi weakly spoke up, using all his strength to talk. He needed to tell Naruto the truth; it was seventeen years overdue. If he was going to die, then at least he owed his son that much. "Listen closely."

"We're almost there Dad." Naruto was painfully aware that Kakashi lost a lot of blood already.

"Seventeen years ago, Earth Country initiated an attack on Fire Country. I was part of an elite team sent out on the most covert of operations…" Kakashi began, the pain was distracting him.

"I know Dad. And then Fire Country betrayed your team and you were the only one that survived." Naruto wished that he could run faster but this was a quick a he could go with someone as heavy as Kakashi on his back.

"I was sent as a part of a team to eliminate the targets that were considered a threat to Fire Country. We succeeded but then we were betrayed by our own country." Kakashi continued, as if he didn't hear Naruto. "The only reason why I survived was because of your father… your real birth father… Namikaze Minato."

"W-what?"

"You have to get… retribution for your father's sake… six men responsible…" Kakashi trailed off, finally slipping unconscious.

"Dad? Dad! Wake up! We're here… you can't die! You can't leave me alone…" Naruto almost stumbled over, painfully dragging himself to the village medical clinic. "H-Haku! Dad- the line mine… Is he gonna be okay?"

"Calm down Naruto-kun. Get Hatake-san on the bed." Haku instructed, ordering people around instantly. "Boil the water. Get the bandages. Get the doctor in here!" The usually soft spoken boy's tone was harsh and commanding, channeling some of Zabuza's spirit. Pulling on some gloves, he told Gaara to watch over a distraught Naruto. "Hatake-san is under the best care possible."

The redhead pulled Naruto away from the clinic and into the waiting area outside. Leaving Naruto only for a moment to grab a clean shirt and a wet cloth to wipe away the blood, he watched Naruto bury his face into the towel. Wordlessly sitting down next to Naruto, he silently gave him his support. It was all Naruto needed.

Iruka and Zabuza came by to see how Kakashi was doing and how Naruto was holding up. They waited with them for as long as they could before Zabuza had to go back to his village patrol (as well as issue a manhunt for Gatou and his cronies) and even Iruka couldn't get Naruto to respond. Eventually he had to leave to manage his class of children as well.

A while later, Naruto sniffed and rubbed his red puffy eyes. "Dad… told me some stuff… about me and him…" He laughed bitterly, running his hands through his shaggy hair. "This is so messed up!"

"Explain to me." Gaara never seen his friend so frazzled before. Sure, he may be a bit hyperactive and arguably have ADHD, but Naruto was like sunshine. Bright and happy, giving others warmth and cheerfulness; right now it was as if he was caught up in a middle of a storm.

"Dad's not my real dad. Seventeen years ago, Fire Country's government murdered my real dad… What am I suppose to feel right now? Pissed off? Hell yeah I am! At Dad too for keeping something like this from me! But can't be mad at him right now because he might…" Naruto helplessly trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. Giving the redhead a weak smile at best, he added, "I left out a bunch of details…"

Gaara had a pensive expression on his face as he slowly divulged the carefully hidden parts of his own mysterious past. Beyond that he was sold to those men, no one knew of his background. "I have a father, an older sister, and older brother. My mother died giving birth to me, but I had a kind Uncle who took care of me." He said in a low tone. "I remember father was an important man because he was always busy with his work and never came home. But they hated me. They blame me for mother's death." There was no emotion on his face, a careful wiped slate.

"Why? It wasn't your fault." Naruto looked perplexed. As tough as Kakashi was on him, there was no doubt that the man truly loved him like his own flesh and blood. He never had to grow up where he felt unwanted and hated.

Shrugging, Gaara continued his story. "Even my Uncle secretly hated me for taking away my mother as I found out the night he kidnapped me and sold me to some men. I eventually ended up in Wave and that's when you found me." He concluded his tale with a ghost of a smile haunting his lips. "I also left out a bunch of details…"

The two friends looked at each other and burst out laughing. In times like this, it was probably the only thing they could do.

"Thanks Gaara." Naruto finally said, finally regaining some of his spark back. "Do you ever…" He hesitated, pausing before he spoke. "Ever want revenge for what your family did to you?"

"When I start thinking like that," Gaara got up to his feet. "I am also reminded of the fact that if it weren't for them, I would have not met you or Haku."

Naruto had a stunned look on his face. He opened his mouth to reply but Haku opened the door with a reassuring smile. "Hatake-san will be fine. He's unconscious but you can go see him."

"Dad's gonna be okay…" Naruto breathed, feeling like the world finally had sunshine in it again.

In terse silence, Naruto and Kakashi sat upright all but speaking to each other. The young man was trying not to stare at his dad's leg (or lack of) while Kakashi didn't seem to be able to look at the blonde all together.

Finally Naruto couldn't take it and took the initiative to talk first. "Dad… I'm sorry!" He blurted, blinking back the tears that were threatening to well up in his eyes again. "If it weren't for me, your leg-"

"It's all right Naruto." Kakashi said softly, motioning the boy to come closer. Naruto leapt into his arms, hugging his dad tightly as if the man would disappear. "Oof." Kakashi wasn't prepared for that and the air got knocked out of his lungs. "I promised your father that I'd keep you safe…" Now that the truth was out, Kakashi felt no need to pretend any longer. As much as he wanted to pretend that the painful tugging at the corner of his heart was just a figment of his imagination, every time he talked to Naruto about _real_ birth father it became even harder to breathe.

"What are you talking about? You _are_ my dad." Naruto mumbled. "You're the man who raised and cared for me for the last seventeen years. Namikaze Minato might be my father, but you're always gonna be my dad."

Kakashi gazed down at Naruto with a rare tender expression, his hand stroking Naruto's yellow hair. "Thank you, Naruto."

Naruto wanted to make this moment last forever but he knew better. Drawing away from his dad's embrace, he sucked in a deep breath. It was now or never. "That incident seventeen years ago… Who was responsible?" He wanted to know who destroyed his family before it even had a chance to start.

"I know that there were five men behind the betrayal. The only name I can confirm is Homura Mitokado. He's a dirty politician in the government." Kakashi affirmed, his voice a low growl.

"What's gonna happen now?" He knew that the older man would not be content living the rest of his life here, nestled away in this village. And with his leg in that condition… Naruto's heartbeat quickened when his mind placed together the fragmented pieces of the puzzle. God, his dad was going to get _killed_ if he tries playing assassin like that. How fast could a one-legged man run?

"Justice for Minato-Sensei and the others." Kakashi replied, confirming Naruto's fears.

"Can… you be satisfied with just living?" Naruto always wondered why his dad trained him so hard, why he had work himself until he was sweating blood and tears. It was his destiny to carry out a revenge plan spanning seventeen years long.

"You know I cannot Naruto."

Sucking in another huge breath, Naruto closed his brilliant blue eyes. "If I took care of it… Got justice for father and the others… can we just live our lives out in peace somewhere? Have a normal life like everyone else?" Years later, he'd look back on this moment and laugh at his own naivety.

Kakashi reach up and pulled off a pendent under his shirt and gave it to Naruto. It was a small sniper's bullet tied to a chain. "This was the bullet your father took for me. It went through him and hit my shoulder instead. Never forget who you are, Naruto."

Holding the very object that killed his father gave Naruto mixed feelings. He wanted to hurl that thing out the window while wanting to keep it forever. It was his father's last memento to dad- the gift of life. Starting from this moment onwards, Naruto couldn't just dillydally they way he had been most his life. He needed to get serious. "One last question… My mom, is she still alive?"

"She is." Kakashi affirmed, pulling out the worn picture from his pocket. "But she abandoned you." _I'm so sorry Kushina-san… but your son can't have any distractions in his life now. This is for the best._ "You look just like him."

Naruto reverently stared at the old photograph as if it would disappear. His dad, Kakashi with his obvious silver hair was a lot younger looking in the picture standing next to a man that looked just like an older version of himself. Touching the picture tentatively, Naruto realized why his dad always told him to get a haircut whenever his bangs got too long. Without his whisker marks, he could've passed himself off as his clone. So this was Namikaze Minato.

And lastly, the woman in the photograph with long red hair. "Mom…" He whispered, tracing her face lightly with his finger. This was the woman who abandoned her only child. For what reasons? A spark of anger flared up. If you were gonna have kids, at least have the sense not to throw them away afterwards if you don't want them! Returning the photograph to Kakashi, Naruto's face hardened. "I'm going to change, that is my destiny…"


End file.
